Rice - good, bad, white, brown, coverted?

Share:

Rice - good, bad, white, brown, coverted?

Okay, so I grew up eating, and hating, Minute Rice. Then in my college days I moved on to brown rice, and I loved it. I still love it, but now that I eat meat again, more and more dishes seem to clash with the flavor of brown rice. Brown rice under broccoli and tofu or black beans - that's fine. Brown rice in jambalaya? Not so good. I bought plain bulk white rice at the store, but it always seemed too lightweight, too close to the Minute Rice I remember suffering through as a child. I also tended to feel guilty about the nutritional waste of it. I also don't care for the airiness and floral quality of basmati. Then I started cooking from Paul Prudhomme's cookbooks, and bought Uncle Ben's, because Prudhomme recommends "converted rice." I loved it. It has chew and bite and density. But I can't believe I like something so, well, boxed and trademarked and television-advertised and all. I know there are smaller companies producing rice out there. Does anyone have any recommendations of one to try? I've read John Thorne's article on rice - has anyone tried his suggestions? Then there's this: I've read that the process of "converting" rice (steaming, essentially) actually forces some of the nutrition from the bran into the rice, so that converted rice is more nutritious than regular white rice. I ask the food scientists out there: is that so? And, if so, does anyone but Uncle Ben's use this process? I know the term "converted" is owned by them.

Oh, I also like red wehani, but again, it doesn't work with everything. I love wild rice, but that's a whole other topic.